Gildone
Gildone is a hill town and comune in the province of Campobasso, in the Molise region (southern Italy). At its peak, the town consisted of 3,000 inhabitants, but the population now numbers about 900. The town is in a rural area surrounded by farms dotted with olive trees and sheep, and is located about 15 minutes southeast of the city of Campobasso. Gildone became famous because the great-grandparents of Ariana Grande (Antonio Grande and Filomena Iavenditti) lived here before moving to America in 1912.
As part of the wider Italian mass-emigration, many of Gildone's inhabitants left the town in search of economic betterment. The first emigrants left around the turn of the 20th century and mainly settled in Brooklyn, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, also Colorado, in the United States. (There is a plaque in Gildone's main church St. Sabino, commemorating the financial contribution of the Gildonese émigré community of Cleveland towards the church's restoration in 1923.) Following the Second World War, in light of stricter immigration laws into the United States, Gildonesi emigrants sought new lives elsewhere. A vast amount relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where in fact, the number of Gildonesi and their descendants exceeds the current population of the town itself. The traditions of Gildone continue to survive in the émigré community of Montreal, such as the August pepper feast and anniversary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which are maintained by the local Associazione Gildonese. Other major Gildonese communities exist in New York, Melbourne, Toronto, Belgium, Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Caracas, with minor communities in Western Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland
As part of the wider Italian mass-emigration, many of Gildone's inhabitants left the town in search of economic betterment. The first emigrants left around the turn of the 20th century and mainly settled in Brooklyn, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio, also Colorado, in the United States. (There is a plaque in Gildone's main church St. Sabino, commemorating the financial contribution of the Gildonese émigré community of Cleveland towards the church's restoration in 1923.) Following the Second World War, in light of stricter immigration laws into the United States, Gildonesi emigrants sought new lives elsewhere. A vast amount relocated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where in fact, the number of Gildonesi and their descendants exceeds the current population of the town itself. The traditions of Gildone continue to survive in the émigré community of Montreal, such as the August pepper feast and anniversary of Santa Maria delle Grazie, which are maintained by the local Associazione Gildonese. Other major Gildonese communities exist in New York, Melbourne, Toronto, Belgium, Buenos Aires, São Paulo and Caracas, with minor communities in Western Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland
Map - Gildone
Map
Country - Italy
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| Flag of Italy | |
Italy was the native place of many civilizations such as the Italic peoples and the Etruscans, while due to its central geographic location in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, the country has also historically been home to myriad peoples and cultures, who immigrated to the peninsula throughout history. The Latins, native of central Italy, formed the Roman Kingdom in the 8th century BC, which eventually became a republic with a government of the Senate and the People. The Roman Republic initially conquered and assimilated its neighbours on the Italian peninsula, eventually expanding and conquering a large part of Europe, North Africa and Western Asia. By the first century BC, the Roman Empire emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean Basin and became a leading cultural, political and religious centre, inaugurating the Pax Romana, a period of more than 200 years during which Italy's law, technology, economy, art, and literature developed.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | Euro | € | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| CA | Catalan language |
| CO | Corsican language |
| FR | French language |
| DE | German language |
| IT | Italian language |
| SC | Sardinian language |
| SL | Slovene language |